Although it's generally about teen-angst, boredom, aimlessness and masturbation I guess you can also look at it as a kind of portrait of a character too (or a certain type/age of person...) as Thomas highlights...
"read Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas and you might understand a bit better."
Better still - try to get a CD/tape of it. It was written as a radio play and is fantastic read live.
Colin Meloy has said that he took a lot of influence for this album from Under Milk Wood.
It's the character known as "Nogood Boyo". He basically goes about the small town in which the play is set, making a mischief of himself, terrorising young women in the wash-house, eliciting disgust from others and sailing about on his boat, laying back watching the sun in complete boredom.
Here's a few quotes from the play to shed some light, if you're not familiar...
Second Voice:
Boyo catches a whalebone corset. It is all he has caught all day.
Nogood Boyo:
Me, Nogood Boyo, up to no good in the wash-house.
First Woman:
Look at that Nogood Boyo now
Second Woman:
too lazy to wipe his snout
Although it's generally about teen-angst, boredom, aimlessness and masturbation I guess you can also look at it as a kind of portrait of a character too (or a certain type/age of person...) as Thomas highlights...
"read Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas and you might understand a bit better."
Better still - try to get a CD/tape of it. It was written as a radio play and is fantastic read live.
Colin Meloy has said that he took a lot of influence for this album from Under Milk Wood.
It's the character known as "Nogood Boyo". He basically goes about the small town in which the play is set, making a mischief of himself, terrorising young women in the wash-house, eliciting disgust from others and sailing about on his boat, laying back watching the sun in complete boredom.
Here's a few quotes from the play to shed some light, if you're not familiar...
Second Voice: Boyo catches a whalebone corset. It is all he has caught all day.
Nogood Boyo: Me, Nogood Boyo, up to no good in the wash-house.
First Woman: Look at that Nogood Boyo now Second Woman: too lazy to wipe his snout